Combined clock and alarm for hotels



(NoModeL) A. B. HA'RFORD.

COMBINED CLOCK AND ALARM FOR HOTELS, &0. No. 361,511. Pgtented Apr. 19,1887.

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U ITED STATES PATENT hrice.

ARTHUR B. HARFORD, OF EAST SAGINAIV, MICHIGAN.

COMBINED CLOCK AND ALARM FOR HOTELS, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,511, dated April 19, 1887.

Application filed J anuary 16, 1886. Serial No. 188,769. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR B. HARFORD, of East Saginaw, county of Saginaw, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Combined Clock and Electric Alarm for Hotels, 850; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification.

My invention consists of the combinations of devices and appliances hereinafter specified, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention I represent in the drawing a diagram illustrating a system which embodies my invention.

The clock, the switchboard, the annunciator, and simultaneous signaling apparatus are supposed to be located at the office, while the bells and the push-buttons shown at the lower righthand corner are supposed to be located in different rooms of the hotel. The particular rooms here indicated are supposed to be rooms 108 and 104,.

A represents the clock; B, any suitable c011- nection whereby the hour-hand of the clock is brought into the circuit C. This may be sufficiently accomplished by attaching thewire G to any of the metallic posts of the clock.

a are insulated contacts. They may be located at any stated intervals, although I have shown them located at intervals of fifteen minutes. They are in such relation to the hourhand of the clock that this hand will form a connection with each said contact-point as it passes, and' the contact-point is preferably made so small as to maintain the connection only for a short periodsay fifteen seconds, more or less.

At 5 and 6 are shown strips forming part of a switch-board arrangement, there being such an arrangement for each of the different hours on the dial of the clock, and each said hour series on the switch-board is provided with space corresponding with each room of the building.

The drawing only shows strips corresponding with the time from 5 to 6 and the time from 6 to 7, and the rooms shown on the strips are rooms 100 to 108. Each said switch-board series-as, for instance, the upper one shown in the drawing-has metallic disks corresponding with 5.15 oclock below the disk corresponding with 5.45 oclock. At one side of each room-disk is a metallic contact corresponding with five oclock, and upon the opposite side of each disk is a metallic contact corresponding with 5.30 oclock.

In practice the wires corresponding with any particular series on the switch-board would be confined to the space back of that series, but are thrown out into view in the diagram for the purpose of illustration.

The general operation of the device will now be understood. Suppose the occupant of room 108 desires to be called at five oclock. The clerk simply inserts a metallic pin between the disk in the series 5 marked 108 and the adjacent contact marked 5.

It will be seen that the corresponding contact on the clock-dial is thus connected through the contact 5, the pin, and the disk marked 108 with the bell in room 108, thence back through the annunciator at the office, thence back to the hour-hand of the clock, so that when the hour-hand strikes the five-oclock contact on the dial the circuit is closed and the bell in room 108 is rung. So, also, the bell is rung on the annunciator, and the annunciator indicates the room that is being called. Now, suppose another guest, occupying room 104,wishes to be called at 6.15. The clerk puts apin in the series 6 between thedisk marked 104 and the strip marked 6.15. It will be seen that the corresponding contact on the clock is thus connected through the strip 6.15, the pin, and

the disk 104c with the bell in room 104, thence back through the annunciator, and from the annunciator back to the hour-hand of the clock, so that when the hour-hand makes connection with the said contact on the clock the circuit is closed and the bell in room 104 is rung.

D is the annunciator.

E is mechanism for simultaneously all the bells in case of fire.

c is a metallic bar provided with pins e. Each of the wires is caused to traverse a cone spending spring, 6 in this appliance-one on its way to the room and another on its way from the room. A lever, 0?, is adapted to ringing throw the bar longitudinally and cause its pins 6 to make contacts with each of thesaid wires or springs 6, thus short-circuiting the battery in each room. For instance, in room 104:, should the lever e be thrown, the circuit of the battery corresponding with that room would be closed through the bell, through the simultaneous signal apparatus E, and back through the battery and bell, thus sounding all the bells throughout the hotel simultaneously. Now, in order to use the same wires which are ordinarily found in hotels connected with push-buttons, I ground one of the contacts of the push-button and locate at some convenient point, preferably at the office, a battery, F, grounding one of its elements and connecting the other element into the main circuit C. It is thus seen that if the occupant of room 104 should desire to signal the office he presses his push-button. The current cannot pass through the clock, because that contact is open; but he will complete the circuit from the ground through his push-button, thence through the annunciator, ringing its bell and indicating the room, thence from the annunciator off through the battery F to the ground, andwhat is true of room 104 is likewise true of room 108, or any other room.

Should the occupant of room 108 desire to be called both at five o clock and quarter after five, it is only necessary to place an additional pin between the disk marked 108 in the series 5 of the switch-board and the 5.15 strip above the disk. It is not necessary that each room should have a battery located in the room; but all the batteries might be located at the office or other convenient point, each upon its own circuit between the rooms and the simultaneous-signal apparatus E.

H represents the room-batteries, and I the signal-bells in the rooms.

Now, it is apparent that, if it is desired that the occupants signal shall sound each time thathe presses his push-button to signal the office, all thatis necessary is to locate the signal-bell at the point I, so, also, the room-battery H might be connected into the circuit at H, and in that case the battery F could be dispensed with without, however, dispensing with the ground at that point; and I would have it understood that my claims contemplate such a construction as the equivalent of the con- .struction in which the battery F is employed.

. I am aware of the patent to Kellogg, Octo-' her 7, 1884, No. 306,084, and lay no claim to what is shown and covered thereby. My invention differs therefrom in the particulars specified in claim 6, as well as what is speci- -fied in the other claims.

What I claim is" 1. In a system of electric bells for the rooms of hotels, 850., the combination, with an annunciator and a clock, substantially as described, of a switch-board consisting of a separate series of terminals corresponding with each hour upon the dial, each series comprisinga terminal from each room, a terminal for the full hour, and terminals for each of the contacts upon the clock-dial between the full hour and the next succeeding, and means, substantially as described, for connecting the circuit of any room with the circuit of any particular contact-point on the clock, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a system of electric signal-bells for the rooms of hotels, &c., the combination, with the bell-circuits, clock, and a suitable switchboard, of an annunciator at the o'ffice, connected in the circuit, substantially as described, to automatically indicate when the circuit is closed by the clock what rooms have been signaled, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In a system of electric signal-bells for the rooms of a hotel, 850., the combination, with the roomcircuits, the clock having a circuitclosing hand, an annunciator at the office in the circuit to automatically indicate the rooms which have been signaled, and a suitable switch-board, of mechanism for simultaneously closing all the circuits through the said bells for use in case of fire or other emergency, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A simultaneous-signal apparatus consisting of a suitable frame or support through which the wire leading to any room and the wire returning from the same room pass upon separate springs or conduits, a metallic bar having points or projections adjacent but out of contact with each of said conduits, and a lever or other actuating mechanism whereby the said bar is shifted to bring its projections into contact with said conduits, substantially as described.

5. A-simultaneoussignaling apparatus, E, consisting of a sliding bar, 6, with projections e, spring-conduits a and lever e substantially as and for the purpose described.

ICO

6. In a system of electric signal-bells for the" rooms of a hotel, &c., the combination, with the usual push-button circuit of any room embracing the office-annunciator, its annunciatorbell, and an Officebattery, of ashunt-wire connecting the push-button circuit in the room through a bell and local battery with a ground, and a similar shunt-wire in the office con-necting the push-button circuit, a switch-board, and a clock with the ground, said switchboard having independent wires leading to terminals 011 the clock-dial and adapted to connect the room with any such terminal, the construction being such that the clock may close the circuit through the annunciator, the

, room-battery, and the room-bell while the pushbutton is open, and the occupant may by his push-button close the circuit through the annunciator and the ofiice-bell when the clockcircuit is open, substantially as described.

7. In an electric signal system, the combination, with a circuit embracing room signalbells and a clock, of a switch-board, strip,or series for any hour, the same consisting of a disk or contact corresponding with each roomcircuit, with a series of terminal strips and spending with the respective contacts on the terminal plates arranged around or adjacent In testimony whereof I sign this specifica- 10 to each said room-disk, said terminals corretion in the presence of two witnesses.

clock, which correspond with intervals of fifteen minutes, more or less, during said hour, the construction being such that the disk may be connected with one or more of said terminals by pin or other connecting mechanism, substantially as described.

ARTHUR B. HARFORD.

\Vitnesses:

GEORGE CONWAY, HOMER BLAISDELL. 

